Hong Kong and Macau Consider Visitor Limits

Hong Kong and Macau are on the front line of the emerging Chinese middle class. I expect foreign countries in Europe may impose similar restrictions eventually, if the growth of tourism follows a similar pattern. One factor at play is Chinese are highly tolerant of crowds due to their experience in China. Going to the mall on an average day in Beijing is like going to an American mall on Black Friday. "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded" culturally translates into Chinese as "it's too crowded there, so everyone goes there now." From the Western perspective, Chinese do not respect personal space. This pictograph essay doesn't get into that aspect of the cultural differences, but the street on Sunday picture is a good approximation of it: Chinese designer depicts Eastern vs. Western human behaviors in clever pictographs. Chinese culture is not unique in this respect. Westerners don't want to ride on a rush hour train in Japan either, but Japan's population is 1/13th of China's, limiting the impact on tourism.

Tourism Tensions Have HK Mulling Limits on Visitor Numbers

Hong Kong's government is considering curbing the number of tourists from the mainland it allows into the city to address the public's concerns.

Hong Kong's leader, Leung Chun-ying, said on February 24 that he would talk to central government leaders about the possibility of limiting the number of visitors when he attends the annual session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference in Beijing.

..."The SAR government has noticed that people's daily lives have been affected by the increase in mainland tourists coming to Hong Kong," Leung told reporters, referring to the city's status as a special administrative region.

Macau govt wants to cap number of mainland tourists

The Macau government wants to impose a limit to the number of mainland tourists that visit the city, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Alexis Tam Chon Weng announced.

Mr Tam said tourists already swamp some areas of the city, which has a negative impact on the population’s daily life.

The announcement came on the heels of the overcrowding faced at Macau’s borders and main tourist spots during the Lunar New Year festive season, which started on February 19.

Mr Tam told reporters that the Macau government plans to soon discuss the issue with mainland’s central government. He said no cap had yet been decided and that limits could vary for different seasons of the year. Mr Tam added he hoped the cap could be introduced still this year.